Ambrose Costayne
Ambrose Costayne is the former Lord of Three Towers and the Head of House Costayne. He was a staunch opponent to King Orys I Baratheon before his exile to the Night's Watch. Personality Ambrose was once an idealist. He once imagined a Westeros that was united, and had the qualities of freedom and peace as two of its major tenants. Under the reign of King Orys, the Lord of Three Towers has grown to become a cynical pragmatist. He no longer yearns for the warm, welcoming touch of peace, but instead wishes to work towards maintaining the status quo, where there is no peace, but there is no war. Despite his deep lying cynicism, Ambrose remains good at heart. He believes in justice, and stands behind the idea that no one is too big, or too important, to be punished. He finds the mere thought of tyranny repulsive. Biography The Hightower was always his home. Their ancestral seat of Three Towers was nothing more than a summer estate: a place to escape to when there was no work to be done, no answers to be found, and no people to be killed. He was the son of a Lord, a spymaster, a ruthless bastard, and a murderer. For better or worse, the pair didn't take kindly to each other, they may have been family, they may have had similar interest, but their morals could not have been more unalike. When the twins killed their mother in cold blood during the year 353 AC, it was as if something inside their father broke. The woman he had learned to cherish, to love, was gone, and in her place, she left two senseless babes. After naming them after his father and his father before him, Lord Costayne changed for the worse. He became cold, cruel, and ruthless. He may have once chosen his duty because he thought it was for the good, but after 353, all he did was serve without a second thought. Ambrose and Adrian were inseparable as children and they remained that way well into their teen years and beyond. They were not just siblings, they were best friends and allies in a very strange and dangerous world. Despite being so close, however, the two took after very different people. Ambrose came to admire his father's work, despite finding how he finished his jobs repulsive, whilst Adrian idolized his cousin, Ser Jason Hightower, whose riding was, at least to him, second to none. As the two grew older, Ambrose gradually began to take minor duties under his father, such as collecting information from younger agents and listening in on conversations where he wouldn't be suspected. While Ambrose became a budding spy, learning the arts of espionage and the tactics for carefully maneuvering through court, Adrian felt much more at home on the training fields. By the time he was aged nine, Adrian had begun to squire under Ser Jason Hightower, and was considered a prodigal swordsman by some members of the local aristocracy. After their father's sudden death and Adrian's knighting in 372 AC, they each ascended to positions they long knew they would eventually be taking. Ambrose began to serve as the Hightower's personal spymaster, inheriting agents and rings that his father had built up in years past, while Adrian became his brothers bodyguard, acting as a blade and a body against all evil. Recent Events In 374 AC, Ambrose competed in The Tourney at Oldtown, where he placed runner-up in the archery contest. Whilst in King's Landing for the Royal Wedding, Ambrose was arrested and imprisoned under the Red Keep for telling King Orys Baratheon that he laughed like a child. Two weeks after his original imprisonment, he was released by Princess Jocelyn. The next day he was returned to chains and exiled to the Night's Watch, alongside his brother. Family * Tommen Costayne (XXX AC - XXX AC) ** Elinor Costayne (b. 317 AC) ** (married) Norman Hightower (b. XXX AC) *** House Hightower ** Jeyne Costayne (b. 323 AC) ** (concubine) Dagon Drumm (318 AC - 372 AC) *** House Drumm ** Lyn Costayne (324 AC - 372 AC) ** (married) Sarella Redwyne (328 AC - *** Ambrose Costayne (b. 353 AC) *** Adrian Costayne (b. 353 AC) Relationships & Connections House Hightower Despite being nearly as close as brothers, and having spent a majority of his life at the Hightower, Ambrose's relationship with House Hightower remains strained since his imprisonment and the breakdown between Ser Jason and himself. House Redwyne Although not as close to House Redwyne as House Hightower, Ambrose feels a touching connection to the Arbor. His mother, the late Sarella Redwyne, was the sister of Lord Ryam, and the twins had enjoyed a period of relaxation there at some point in their youth. Although not totally loyal, Ambrose feels comfortable calling them friends. Quotes "Nobility? You shame me with your words, my lord. I am hardly noble; I'm the son of a sinner, and I myself have inherited some of his vices, no doubt in order to purge some of my own qualities. I do understand your journey, though, Lord Westerling. Men like us can do little to change the world without first gaining some power, and if that is what you must do first, then I can not fault you for it." - Ambrose on Martyn WesterlingCategory:House Costayne Category:Reachman